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This is an amazing recipe creation and so satisfying to the tastebuds! 😀 I created this recipe based off of this one and it turned out fabulous! It is rich even though it doesn’t have the same creamy texture as the recipe mom used to use with sour cream. This recipe uses coconut milk and is still very rich in flavor! I made it in a covered skillet on the stove and it worked out very well! One recipe serves 4-6, depending on the serving size.

Ingredients:

1 (28 ounce) can of Keystone Beef, drained (reserve the broth in a separate container)

1/2 large onion chopped

1 & 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

8 ounce package of fresh mushrooms, rinsed well

1 & 1/4 cup beef broth

1/4 cup Bragg liquid aminos

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 cup coconut milk ( I use Thai Kitchen, full fat)

3 tablespoons tapioca starch

2 tablespoons water

salt and pepper to taste (needs very little if you use liquid aminos)

In a skillet or pan that you can cover, saute the onions and the garlic powder in 2 tablespoons of olive oil till tender crisp. In a separate container, mix the reserved broth (about 1 cup) and 1/4 cup more of beef broth to make 1 & 1/4 cup. Add the ACV, liquid aminos and onion powder. Pour over the onions in the pan. Add beef (chopped up) and mushrooms. Cook over medium heat for 10 minutes.

Beef stroganoff

In another bowl, mix together the tapioca starch and water. Stir well till it is smooth. Set aside. Shake the can of coconut milk really well. Open and pour out 1/2 cup. After the 10 minutes, slowly stir in the coconut milk, then the tapioca starch. Cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes till thickened, stirring every so often.

Beat the eggs in a bowl and add the milk. Chop up the fresh spinach and add this and the rest of the ingredients to the bowl. Mix well to incorporate the hummus. Grease a 9-inch pie plate and pour egg mixture in. Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees or till egg is “set” in the middle and is baked.

Saute the onions, carrots, Mrs. Dash and dried herbs in the butter till vegetables are tender crisp. Pour in the cans and pints of tomatoes. Cook on medium to high till vegetables are tender. Use an immersion blender to mince the tomatoes and carrots till soup is in smaller pieces. Continue cooking 10-15 minutes longer. Serve with toasted cheese sandwiches in homemade wheat bread! YUM!

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You walk into a bakery and smell the delicious aroma of bread, pie, cake, muffins, cookies, scones, cinnamon rolls and immediately you get more saliva and *think* you are hungry and need a snack. You practically drool at the thought of a ooey, gooey cinnamon roll. Mmmmm!!! 😀 (are you actually drooling yet?! 😀 ) Some of this deliciousness takes yeast to make into bread or rolls, while the other yummy goodness doesn’t but it actually breaks down (metabolizes) into sugar – which – too much will make yeast in our gut!

“All Health Begins in the Gut” – Hippocrates

Who was Hippocrates? He is considered to be the “father of medicine” while in reality, he was a physician from Greece and lived during the time of 460-375 B.C. There are many articles written about his ethical mannerisms and how he taught students such as Meno. “Meno, a pupil of Aristotle, specifically stated in his history of medicine the views of Hippocrates on the causation of diseases, namely, that undigested residues were produced by unsuitable diet and that these residues excreted vapours, which passed into the body generally and produced diseases. Aristotle said that Hippocrates was called “the Great Physician” but that he was small in stature (Politics). (1)

Hippocrates also ended this quote with “and let medicine be your food”. In actuality, it makes sense to use real food as your medicinal arsenal. Sometimes it is hard to decipher what Real Food is due to so many articles, authors, doctors, nutritionists, health coaches or self-taught personnel telling you to do this! do that! Try this or that! Eat this herb! Try this supplement! Mine is the best! Don’t eat theirs! :-O It can be SO confusing knowing what is right or wrong; what to do or what not to do.

While I certainly don’t want to add to the confusion, I do want to share some truths I have learned. I suggest you ask your family physician what is best for your health if you take any pharmaceutical medications. There can be interactions between medications and herbs / different foods, so please educate yourself on the different possibilities. Or schedule an appointment with your personal health coach or nutritionist to discuss your supplement regime.

Obviously, if you do a Google search on “gut health”, you will get numerous pages of articles and hundreds of different ideas. The one thing they do unite on is : A HEALTHY GUT IS SO IMPORTANT!

While this subject of gut health could take many pages and many days to write, it could not be exhausted. I plan to continue sharing tips as I learn more. But for today, here are some ways to tell if your gut is not healthy. **Keep in mind that each body is different and we each process foods differently. **

If your bowels are not moving at least once or twice a day, your gut needs a little help! Fecal waste that lies in the gut longer than 12-24 hours can ferment and start to leak bacteria back into your body!

If you are not drinking enough water on a daily basis, your health is compromised. Your body becomes like a stagnant swamp when it is not “flushing” out the toxins. Take your weight, divide it in half and that is how many ounces of water your body needs each day. If you are not used to drinking water, start by drinking 8 ounces in the morning first thing when you get up.

Then add in another 8 -16 ounces between your meals. If plain water is difficult for you, add in a little lemon juice, lime juice or these wonderful packets. Keep adding in water between your meals, so you digest your food better during meal time when you don’t need to drink as much liquid! Sip it throughout the day – your body can’t process more than 8 ounces in a gulp! 😀

3. If you haven’t tried eating some of the foods on this list, you should add in some healthy foods from this list of 10 foods good for gut health!

4. If you have intense stress or anxiety, your gut health could be compromised. Our gut is like a “second brain” and many health challenges could be removed if we listen to what our body is “telling us”. (2)

5. If you crave sugar or carbs, your gut is trying to tell you something! Please consider option six below to help combat this craving! (also look at resources # 6 and 7)

6. If you are lacking a good probiotic source, consider this one. I take it and love the results I am getting!

7. If you have extra weight around your middle, your gut could be storing toxic waste. When the body gets the number of calories it needs for the moment, but we like what we are eating and keep stuffing it in, the excess tends to reside in the hips or around our waist. This is not healthy as it causes the heart and respiratory system to work harder as well as cause more for our hips and joints to carry!

Cheers to a more healthier you! Please send me an email or comment in the box below if you have questions. Watch your inbox for more info on this subject!

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Here is a new twist on veggie pizza! I just made this over last weekend and it was a success! I suggest eating it in the first day or two… 3 days it is a little mushy and no longer looks as appetizing. 😀 Haha!

Vegetable Pizza with Zucchini Crust

(I doubled the recipe to make it fit this jelly roll pan)

4 cups shredded raw zucchini

1/2 tsp salt

1 egg beaten well

1 TBSP nutritional yeast

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Shred the zucchini and sprinkle salt over it. Mix well. Let it sit a few minutes. Pour the beaten egg over it and mix well. Add nutritional yeast and mix well. Pour into a greased 9×13 baking dish and spread it out thinly. Bake for 20-30 minutes or till the zucchini looks a little toasted and the crust has “set up”. (Baking time may vary depending on your oven). Let crust cool while you make a batch of Homemade Hummus.

Filling: Homemade Hummus or prepared pesto.

When crust is cooled, spread with 1/2 -2/3 cup of hummus. It should be 1/4 inch thick or a little more. In the picture above, I used half hummus and a 5 ounce jar of prepared pesto. So you will only need a half jar (2.5 ounces) of pesto for this recipe!

Topping: Half a bag of shredded Power Blend Superfoods or 5 ounces of your own chopped veggies. Sprinkle over the hummus and press the raw veggies down a little to make them stick better.

Serve immediately. Refrigerate leftovers and eat the next day.

Cheers to a new recipe!

~Coach Shannon

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Ok, so this is not the most comfortable subject to talk about, but I just read an article regarding the toxins that are put into commercially made feminine hygiene products. It was written by Ty Bollinger who is the founder of The Truth About Cancer. I want to share what he wrote. If you are a male and reading this, please consider sharing the article with your female family members. You may be saving a life! Women, lets share this with other girlfriends! Together, we all can help combat cancer!!

It’s usually embarrassing and the topic can make even the strongest woman incredibly uncomfortable. Mothers purchase their daughters’ products and pray for them to read the directions instead of asking questions.

When a girl hit puberty, it’s automatically assumed that she’ll use pads for protection and sanitary reasons. Eventually, some young women may use tampons as well. They’re convenient, absorbent and, after a learning curve, reasonably easy to use. They’re on hand for when you need them. Women cycle every month from puberty to menopause and use what they require during those times.

But with studies questioning how these goods are made and what toxins they contain, women have new information to consider. The dangers sanitary products pose is a real concern. Ignoring them can lead to bigger health problems in the future.

The Science of Skin

Your skin is your largest organ. It is also the thinnest and most permeable organ. For women, this includes the skin around the delicate vaginal area. Any substance that comes in contact with your skin can be absorbed into your body, directly into your bloodstream.

It is this quality that makes topical medications so effective.

Your digestive system is designed to process compounds and rid your body of potential toxins. When something is absorbed through your skin, it doesn’t go through your body’s natural defense system. Your skin is unable to weed out the good stuff from what is potentially toxic.

A good rule of thumb in regards to skin care is that if you wouldn’t eat something, then you shouldn’t apply it to your skin.

Skin Health and Feminine Hygiene Products

Let’s talk about how conventional tampons and pads are manufactured. A single sanitary napkin can contain enough plastic to make four plastic bags. Chemicals within the plastic include potentially toxic chemicals, pesticides, and petrochemicals. That’s quite a chemical concoction to put in contact with the most sensitive skin on your body.

Since these products are considered “medical devices,” manufacturers aren’t required to disclose all of the ingredients they contain. Companies typically disclose that a pad contains foam and an absorbent material.

One woman compared a 100% organic cotton pad with a nationally known brand of pad. When burned, the organic pad burned slowly and steadily, leaving behind almost no residue other than the ash from burning. By striking comparison, the national brand pad created thick, black smoke and left behind a thick residue.

This led analysts to suspect that it contained petrochemicals, synthetic materials, and dioxins. Chemicals that have known links to cancer, heart disease, harm to developing embryos, and organ damage.

Tampons are manufactured using a blend of cotton, rayon, or a blend of the two materials. All tampons – organic or synthetic – have to pass the same standards for absorbency and protection.

Could Your Pad or Tampon be Harming You?

How can a clean, white pad or tampon cause damage? Consider whether or not that tampon is made with organic cotton. If not, chances are that it’s made with GMO cotton treated with crop pesticides. It’s a fact that 94% of the cotton grown in the United States is genetically modified.

If it’s an “odor neutralizing” product or contains any sort of fragrance, it contains a chemical soup of contaminates that can potentially cause infertility, neurological defects, hormone dysfunction, and cancer.

The average woman will use between 16,000 and 24,000 tampons in her lifetime, depending on how long her body menstruates. Without the ability to rid these toxins absorbed topically, they accumulate over a lifetime.

Tampons can also create an ideal environment for bacteria to develop and thrive. The walls of the vagina are so thin and delicate that regular use of feminine hygiene products can cause micro-tears. This presents a perfect breeding ground for bacteria. Toxic Shock Syndrome (TSS) is a potentially life threatening condition caused by either a strep or staph infection resulting from tampon use.

Do you wonder why feminine hygiene products are so bright white? In order to get that pure white look, manufacturers use chlorine bleach. A by-product that forms from this bleaching process is dioxins. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recognizes dioxins as a serious threat to public health and determined that there is no safe level of exposure.

However, the Federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) states that there is no discernible threat to the health of tampon or pad users from these dioxins as they are below detectable limits. They believe that “trace amounts” of dioxins are acceptable and safe to the human body.

If you use a product on your skin as much as 24,000 times during your life, is that considered a “trace amount” by the FDA? Clearly, the cancer-causing effects of these toxins are of very little concern to a government agency that long ago stopped caring about long-term consumer health.

Alternative Feminine Hygiene Products to Consider

There are alternatives that you can choose to lessen your exposure to the materials contained in various feminine hygiene products and nursing pads.

Organic cotton tampons. These products must pass an absorbency test so you are not likely to find any reduction in the quality. Organic tampons continue to test well beneath detectable levels for toxins. Look for 100% organic on the label.

Organic sanitary pads. Available in health food stores and recognized by more national supermarkets every month, these pads are a safe alternative to traditional pads. Again, absorbency is regulated so you are not losing quality by choosing a safer product. Read the label carefully.

Menstrual cup. This is an alternative to tampons or pads altogether. This silicone cup is inserted into the vagina during menstruation. Many women are choosing this option because it can be worn overnight, which is not recommended for any tampon.

Homemade products. Before WWII, disposable products weren’t available. Women had to fashion their own re-usable, washable pads for use during their periods. Some were made from absorbent towels, flannel, or similar cotton fabric. There are many resources online that provide information and even sewing patterns to make your own sanitary pads. The environmental advantages aside, you do need to wash these pads so preparation is key.

Whether you choose organic disposable products or make your own, there are alternatives to feminine hygiene products mass-produced with chemicals and plastics.

Contact large manufacturers and push for product disclosure as well. If it goes into or on your body, you have a right to know what’s in it. If you can’t pronounce it, chances are it’s not good for your delicate skin. Using safe feminine hygiene products is another aspect of living a cancer-free lifestyle.

Research is key. Find the solution that’s right for you and share the news with your females friends and loved ones.

No matter what you use, chances are it still won’t be a comfortable topic… but it may help save someone’s life!

~Ty Bollinger is a happily married husband, the father of four wonderful children, devoted Christian, best-selling author, medical researcher, talk radio host, health freedom advocate, former competitive bodybuilder and also a certified public accountant.After losing several family members to cancer (including his mother and father), Ty refused to accept the notion that chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery were the most effective treatments available for cancer patients. He began a quest to learn all he possibly could about alternative cancer treatments and the medical industry. Ty has now made it his life mission to share the most remarkable discovery he made on his quest: the vast majority of all diseases (including cancer) can be easily prevented and even cured without drugs or surgery.Ty speaks frequently to health groups, at seminars, expos, conferences, churches, and is a regular guest on multiple radio shows and writes for numerous magazines and websites. Speaking from personal experience and extensive research, Ty has touched the hearts and changed the lives of thousands of people around the world.

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You might be wondering why the dish above is empty… That’s because these sweet potatoes were so yummy I didn’t get a picture before I ate them! 😀 Ha! But it’s a super simple recipe with 4 ingredients!

5-6 medium sweet potatoes

1 TBSP butter

Salt to taste

1/2 tsp cinnamon (or more if desired)

Wash the sweet potatoes, cut out bad spots & cut the ends off a little. Prick each tator with a fork in several different places. Wrap in foil and bake at 350 degrees for an hour or hour & a half. Take them out and unwrap to poke with a knife and see if they are cooked through.

Peel the sweet potatoes while warm, then place in a bowl and mash with a fork or with the hand mixer. Add the butter, salt and cinnamon. Blend well.

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Financial health- what does this involve? While this subject may not seem to fit the category of the other posts on health in terms of food health, you would have to agree that financial health would be of importance in the category of the health of our mind!

Many people lay awake at night wondering how they will make ends meet. I’ve been there. Many pour over their meager budget wondering how to make it more meager. How will I feed my family? Pay the mortgage? Put gas in the car?

Many people drive to work at a job they hate, but don’t feel they have a way out. Financial stress has caused many a heart attack or anxiety attack. It can cause irritability, anger, bitterness, fear, or broken marriages. The credit cards are maxed out and you live paycheck to paycheck, typically not really even making it to the next paycheck. Life seems bleak with no hope. Is there a way out of this cycle, this unending hamster wheel that keeps rolling the faster I try to run from job to job???

THERE IS HOPE! I just felt this subject of financial health is important to discuss and want to share some of the ways I have been helped with regards to finances. Money is not a bad thing. How we choose to handle money impacts our relationship with our Heavenly Father. Luke 16:11 “Therefore if you have not been faithful in the use of worldly wealth, who will entrust the true riches to you?”

“Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.” Romans 13:8

“The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is the slave of the lender.” Proverbs 22:7

I have several friends in the past couple years who have diligently worked on debt elimination and have achieved their goals. One person said it was the biggest weight off his back! After careful planning and talking to several advisors, both personal and professional, I am well on the way to financial freedom in the next 1.5-2 years! Each little bit that you pay extra on your loans will soon snowball into a greater effort! Skip those daily doughnut or bagel and coffee stops! Pay extra and be the example to the next generation. Show that we don’t HAVE to be bound by debt/student loans/credit card debt. Live with fewer materialistic items so you can be debt free. Have a garage sale/bake sale/craft sale. Get your children involved and teach them the true benefits of saving quarters so they add up to dollars! Print this out and show yourself you can save 25 cents a week! Here is the template for saving $1 a week for a year.

Here are some ideas below to stretch your dollar farther or ways to assist in changing your beliefs about money. Some people want to know if investing is scripturally legitimate. They want to know if money is evil. Money can be used for good or evil. It is the love of money that is the root of all kinds of evil. The Bible never condemns money itself, only the misuse of or the wrong attitude toward it. (CBFS)

Blessings on your journey to true financial health! I am here cheering you on in your successes! It is truly liberating to cut up the credit card after paying it off! When God blesses you with a check in the mail from an anonymous giver, give Him a tenth, then use the other amount with wisdom. When you are given more than enough, raise your standard of giving! You will reap the blessings.

One final thought is to work with a financial coach. I gained a lot from this financial coach. She has many resources on the subject of financial health. ~Coach Shannon